UnitedHealth Options Settlement Approved

A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $900 million-plus settlement resolving a lawsuit pitting UnitedHealth Group shareholders against the insurer over its stock options. Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth will pay $895 million to settle the class-action case. The lead Plaintiffs in the suit are the California Public Employees Retirement System and Alaska Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Trust. Former UnitedHealth Chief Executive William McGuire also has agreed to pay $30 million toward the settlement and to return stock options representing more than 3 million shares. The case arose out of a scandal involving the backdating of UnitedHealth stock options that forced McGuire to step down in 2006.